


Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Reimagined)

by swsithlords



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:54:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25713892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swsithlords/pseuds/swsithlords
Summary: The Resistance is desperate to find a way to stop The First Order, Kylo Ren faces the ultimate betrayal which pushes him to his final breaking point, and the last Jedi, Rey, is searching for her purpose within a war she was never meant to be in the middle of by hunting for the answer to the most haunting question she's ever been asked...Why is the Force connecting us?
Comments: 6
Kudos: 5





	1. Voices

_Voices._

_Ben!_

_It isn't too late._

_You're just a child in a mask._

_You're afraid that you will never be as strong as Darth Vader!_

_I failed you, Ben._

_Please don't go this way._

_Snoke is using you for your power._

_Long live the--_

"Supreme Leader Ren!" Hux yelled now with complete irritation.

Kylo's body jolted as if he'd been electrocuted. He looked around the room at the eyes of Commanders and Generals, all seated around a long, grey table which Hux stood at the end of. Kylo had lost himself in his own mind and became oblivious to the world around him.

"Yes, General Hux?" He questioned, placing his hands flat against the table in attempt to stabilize himself and keep from falling over. 

As much as he tried to hide his disgust for Ren, it still showed on Hux's face. He squinted his eyes, "The next shipment of weaponry is being docked now within the Outer Rim - who do we dispatch for pickup?"

The others within the room looked at neither man, choosing to let their eyes wander or focus on their data pads. Kylo stared at Hux, his eyes giving away his exhaustion.

_You're unbalanced._

_You're a monster._

_Murderous snake!_

_You cannot deny the truth..._

Hux looked into the eyes of his Supreme Leader; even someone with no power from the Force could see how lifeless Kylo was. Physically, Kylo was among them, but mentally he had gone mad. 

Hux tightened his fist, "Fine. I will take it amongst myself to dispatch a squad that will obtain the loot." Hux spit the words at Kylo and stomped towards the exit like a child, speaking one last time before leaving, "I will also go ahead and dismiss this seemingly meaningless gathering. Everyone, back to your stations!"

As the room emptied, Kylo sat still, staring at the center of the table. He felt as if he hadn't slept in days, which he really hadn't. The night brought him nothing but nightmares, images of his past suffocating him and keeping him awake. 

But the voices... they were getting louder and uncontrollable. He knew if he remained this way that the First Order would fall - there was no one worthy of running it. General Hux had the passion and determination of a ruler, but he lacked intimidation and power. Of course, Kylo felt he lacked all of it - no passion, strength, knowledge or motivation. He just felt lost and without meaning. 

_My boy..._

Kylo stood quickly, his eyes darting around the room. 

_You know why you have grown so weak._

The room was empty, Kylo knew this, but he circled the table as if he would find who the voice belonged to. He began to shiver, his body cold and words shaking, "I don't know. I don't know what's happening to me."

_The girl is deceiving you. Your doubts are a result of your compassion for her. Your conflict, a result of your need for her. She does not need you. She weakens you._

Kylo fell to his knees, his eyes closed. In the darkness of his mind, Rey shown through, just as Luke once did before his father. There was always something on the other side holding him back.

_Kill her._

"No." Kylo gasped, trying to keep the image of Rey in his mind.

_Then she will kill you._

The image was fading away, "She won't."

_Come to me. I will show you who she really is._

Kylo opened his eyes. The room fell silent. He examined his shaking hands as his breathing became harsh and his head started to throb. The pain inside of him was becoming unbearable. He channeled that pain, hoping it would give him strength. 

But that was his greatest weakness within all of this - his hope.

********

BB-8 was painted black with silver trim, disguised as a First Order data droid. Two stormtroopers followed him as he rolled through the halls, searching for a data port to extract information from. 

"These suits are ridiculously uncomfortable." One of the troopers said to the other. Under that helmet was Poe, blaster in hand.

Finn was walking in sync with his closest friend, repressing any flashbacks of his time as a real stormtrooper. He chose not to give Poe a response.

BB-8 halted and turned his head to the right. Poe and Finn nearly walked into the droid, but BB-8 rolled over to a door and linked himself to its port. 

Finn looked at Poe, "That's the Command Center."

BB-8 whistled and beeped, causing Poe to nod, "He said he can extract plenty of data from in there."

"Troopers have to be ordered here. We can't just walk in." Finn said it like it was something Poe should already know.

Before Poe could give his own thoughts, BB-8 gave his, so Poe translated that for Finn instead, "We wait here. Droids can come and go anywhere, right?"

"Usually." Finn walked to the opposite side of the hallway and took stance. Poe joined him once the door slid open and BB-8 disappeared inside of it.

The men stood silent. A group of Imperials rounded the corner, walking quickly down the hall. General Hux was leading the pack.

Poe couldn't help but look over at Finn, beginning to feel a bit nervous. Finn didn't budge.

As Hux approached the door which BB-8 just entered, he turned slowly towards them as the rest of the First Order leaders kept moving down the hallway.

"What is your reason to be standing there?" Hux asked them, looking them both up and down.

"We are patrolling with a data-security droid, sir." Finn said, glad he got a word out before Poe attempted one of his lies, "The droid is checking for breaches in the Command Center before we move on to the Control rooms and Communications deck."

Hux stood tall now, nodding, "Very well. Carry on."

Hux opened the door and went inside. Poe's anxiety increased as soon as the door shut and Finn placed his hand on Poe's shoulder, "Calm down."

"If something happens to my droid..."

"Nothing's going to happen to your droid." Finn nodded and fixed his posture, "I promise."

*******

The ability to remain focused on any one particular task had abandoned Rey. Lately all she could do was move - one mission to the next, sometimes two at a time. She needed to stay busy, she needed to help the others.

At night, sleep wouldn't come. She found herself diving deep into the Jedi texts she took from Ahch-To or running the physical training course until her body wouldn't allow it anymore.

If she stopped moving or stopped preoccupying herself with something, her thoughts became loud. The energy around her would shift into something sinister, calling to her, telling her to come find it. 

When Leia ordered Rey to stay on the base while Finn and Poe went on their mission, she became angry. In order to combat that irrational rage, Rey took her staff and ran the course. Jumping, running, swinging, climbing, and sometimes even screaming allowed her to release some of the tension she had allowed to build inside of her.

Rey felt she couldn't move fast enough sometimes. It was as if her past was chasing her and no matter what, it always caught up.

_They're never coming back._

_Pathetic child._

_You went straight to the darkness._

_You're nothing. You come from nothing._

_Why is the Force connecting us?_

_She tripped over her own feet and collapsed, her staff sent flying through the air. Every time she thought of Kylo asking her that question, it threw her off balance._

Rey was dizzy and her vision was fading. Everything around her was growing dark as voices seemed to rush towards her from up ahead. She buried her face in the dirt, shutting her eyes tightly, trying to pull herself out of this nightmare.

_Kill her._

The words echoed around her.

"No." She heard another voice say, a voice she knew well and hadn't heard in quite some time. It wasn't an echo, but could be heard crisp and clear. 

Rey lifted her head and saw Kylo on his knees, his eyes shut tight.

_Then she will kill you._

Kylo shook his head, "She won't. She couldn't even if she wanted to."

Rey pushed herself up, mimicking Kylo's sitting position. 

_Come to me. I will show you who she really is._

Kylo's eyes opened. Rey knew he wasn't really there with her, deep within the forest. She knew their bond had brought them together again. The only thing she didn't know was why it was happening now. 

Kylo was looking at his hands, trying to catch his breath. He looked... miserable. Upon realizing this, Rey couldn't help but notice that her anger had subsided - she was starting to feel normal, more like herself. 

He hadn't noticed her, which made her assume that she was not with him. Maybe the Force was simply showing her how weak he had become, offering her a bit of peace by doing so. 

She knew that was a lie, because her lack of peace did not come from a fear of Kylo Ren.

"Are you really here?" His voice was groggy, tired. Not once did he turn and face her, giving away that he could sense her. His words startled her but she remained unmoved. 

"Yes." She told him, watching as he lowered his hands to his sides.

When he finally looked at her, his appearance changed. His face relaxed, his eyes opened up a bit more, and his body reluctantly leaned in her direction. 

They simply stared at each other in silence, feeling as if they were only a few feet apart when they were really galaxies away. 

Sadness washed over her when he turned his head away. She wanted to go to him, but still couldn't move. It was as if she had been paralyzed.

"Rey." It was all he could say.

Then she heard her name being called from behind her, "Rey! Where are you?"

She turned around, knowing that it was Rose looking for her. She couldn't see Rose from where she sat, and when she turned to look back at Kylo, he was gone. 

"Ben." She whispered sadly. It was all she could say.


	2. Answers

Moments passed, ones that seemed like decades to Poe and seconds to Finn. Soon, Poe began rocking back and forth, muttering incoherent words to himself.

Finn nudged him, shaking his head. There was a smile hiding beneath his helmet as he found humor in Poe's nerves, "We are in more danger than BB-8 is, you know?"

Poe looked up and down the empty hallway, "I find that hard to believe."

Finally, the door slid back open and BB-8 rolled over to them, looking up at Poe and relayed a message. Poe nodded and Finn waited for an explanation, wishing he knew how to understand the droid himself.

"What kind of weapons?" Poe asked BB-8 and upon hearing the answer, he turned back to Finn, "We need to send this information to Leia immediately for them to translate."

Finn shook his head, "We can't do that, it'll give us away. They'll intercept our signal, they'll find the base. They monitor everything."

Poe walked passed Finn and BB-8 followed. Finn walked quickly to catch up to him, "What's going on?"

"We're going to have to split up." Poe said as they turned a corner, walking back to the loading dock where they landed their stolen TIE fighter, "You're going to have to fly out of range with BB-8 so he can send the information to the base. I'm going to sneak on board with the squad they dispatch that's going to retrieve the weapons so that I can send out the coordinates when we get there. Go back to the base, rally a decent crew, and go to the location so that we can stop the First Order from getting their hands on this stuff."

"I'm all for it." Finn stepped in front of Poe and stopped him from moving any further, "Except we're changing roles. You go with the droid, I go with the First Order."

There was silence as Poe weighed in Finn's suggestion. An agreement wasn't hard to come to, "That actually makes more sense."

"Yeah, I know." Finn almost laughed as he patted Poe's shoulder. 

But Poe took a step back, looking passed Finn, "We may have a problem."

BB-8 released a low groan and Finn turned around. Coming from down the hallway was Kylo Ren. The two immediately took position, standing side-by-side to show respects as any stormtrooper would. The closer Kylo got to them, the greater their fear grew. 

His eyes were examining the two troopers when he was only steps away from them; they did not exchange any glances in return. Kylo stopped dead in his tracks and tilted his head to the side, facing them and looking from one to the other. Then, his eyes fell down to BB-8.

"Hmm," Kylo's face gave away no emotion, "what an interesting droid."

"Uhh," Poe stammered, "Thank you, your majesty."

Finn elbowed Poe with great force, and directed his words to Kylo, "They're new, sir... the droid and the trooper."

Kylo took a step towards Finn, "Is that so?" Poe gripped tightly to his blaster, feeling uneasy, and Kylo looked down at the weapon, "No need for that. You've tried shooting me before, remember? On Jakku?"

Poe faced Kylo now, staring at him a moment before removing the helmet. He was pleased when the fresh, cool air came to him. Sweat dripped down the side of his face and he stared at Kylo, who had created a small distance between them. Finn hesitated but soon took off his helmet, propping it between his side and arm. 

It didn't take much observation to see how tired Kylo looked - it made him seem like less of a threat. When Kylo sensed the sudden relief wash over Finn, he gritted his teeth together. This was the first time he wished he still had his helmet... his mask.

"So, what's up? Are you going to have us arrested?" Poe asked, also feeling completely safe, reguardless of who stood before them. 

"No." Kylo responded to Poe, but he kept his eyes locked on Finn's.

"Gonna kill us?" Poe kept on, leaning closer to Finn, trying to put himself within Kylo's line of vision. 

Finn shook his head, his eyes narrowed, "No, he's not."

The corners of Kylo's lips twitched as if he was fighting off a smile. 

BB-8 began whistling and rolling back and forth. Kylo looked down at it, "Your droid is right. Go." When his eyes met Finn's once more, he nodded, "Leave. There is no use in going to the exchange. You will accomplish nothing."

Finn glanced over at Poe as Kylo began walking away, pulling his hood over his head, "Go now before I change my mind."

Poe had no idea what to say to him, even after thoughtful consideration while placing his helmet back on. Finn did the same and watched Kylo turn the corner.

"Who the hell is that? Because that cannot be Kylo Ren." Poe shoved Finn playfully, laughing, "That guy looks beat and he's letting us go? Are clones making a comeback?"

"I don't know, Poe, but for some reason I feel like we can trust him... for now. Let's get back to the base."

"You know, this was a lot easier than when we stole the TIE." Poe said proudly, "We could be spies."

Finn shook his head, though he understood Poe's excitement, "We can brag about it when we get out of here." 

************

The Resistance had grown since the battle on Crait. They hid themselves away from the First Order, sending out only a couple of members at a time to seek ally's. It was a time consuming effort, but the results were satisfactory. 

Leia was able to locate and recruit Lando Calrissian, an old friend of hers who knew quite a lot of people that owed him either money or favors. Some people came reluctantly, acting as if they'd prove themselves worthless of offering any help. However, over time, everyone seemed to come around. Leia was very persuasive and reassuring, so it was easy for her to give valid reasons as to why joining the fight was important for the future of the galaxy. 

Friendships were made, groups were formed, and the more people who joined, the more people they learned of to seek out. Some of them weren't even fighting for their own freedom - they were doing it for future generations, for their children and grandchildren.

As Rey made her way through the crowd, following Rose to the control panels, she spotted Leia standing off to the side with Chewie. Guilt was the first thing Rey felt after seeing Leia, but she chose to ignore it.

Rose stopped at one of the many dashboards, tapping her finger against the holograms that projected above it, "I scanned in several of those pages you asked about earlier. I also put the books back in your desk, just because I didn't want them lost or damaged."

She spun the image around so Rey would have a better view of it. After placing her finger on her chin, Rey looked at the hologram with an expressionless face.

Rose noticed the lack of enthisiasm and smiled, "It's the holocron from your book."

"Okay?" Rey hoped to soon share the same joy as Rose, but she had stared at this same pyramid shaped object for weeks and felt no different about it now.

"I translated the page, Rey." Rose was a little disappointed, "You should be able to read it now."

Rey hadn't even thought of trying to read it, she was so fixated on the object. Rose was right, though - within the margins of the hologram was the translation she needed to find this thing. 

"How were you able to do this? I couldn't find any evidence of recorded Sith language throughout any of our databases." Rey was clearly impressed. Finally.

"Well," Rose turned around, looking at C3P0, "I may have had to call in a favor to have 3P0 reprogrammed, which also meant wiping out his memory completely."

Rey peaked around Rose and saw the droid lying on a cot as a small alien picked at the circuits in his head. 

Rey's eyes grew wide, "You wiped his memory?"

"And it worked." Rose half-smiled, pointing to the hologram to emphasize the success from taking such a risk, "He'll be fine. R2 backs up his memory so, once Babu Frik gets him back up and running, R2 will bring him back."

"And what does Babu Frik want in exchange for his services?" 

"Honestly, Rey, I don't know. I can hardly make out what he's saying." Rose flipped through the hologram again, stopping on a new image, "This one was easier to translate, the Jedi holocron."

Rey read within the margins beside the large image of a cube, "This says... Kenobi? As in Obi-wan Kenobi?"

"Yes." Leia walked up beside Rey, eyeing the image before her, "Obi-wan recovered a holocron from the Archives after the Clone Wars. Luke had several of his own, ones he used while training at his Temple. The Jedi created hundreds, passed down and expanded on for generations."

Rey kept reading, "So, he had it with him on Tatooine? Do you think it's still there?"

"Why do you want to find a holocron, Rey?" Leia asked calmly.

Rey sighed, "I just need... I'm trying to answer a question and the books aren't helping me do that."

Rey flipped the hologram back to the Sith holocron, "It mentions Darth Plagueis here several times. Any idea?"

"I know of him." Leia nodded, folding her arms over her chest, "This page was in one of the Jedi texts?"

"Kind of. It looks like it was ripped from another book and stuck inside of the Jedi's." Rey took a step back, looking around until she saw R2 and called the droid over. 

His head spun in her direction before he moved to her. When he was at her feet, he made several loud, screeching sounds. Rey held her hands up in defense, "You'll have to take that up with Rose. But, before you do, can you download these images to a holodisc for me?"

R2 faced Rose as he linked himself to the dashboard, beginning the download. Rose stared back at the droid, "Is there something you want to say to me?"

R2 sounded as if he was growling at her, then unlinked himself and popped open a side compartment where a small disc emerged from his body. Rey grabbed it and tested it, seeing the pages now project from the disc in the palm of her hand. The Jedi holocron should be an easy find, but the Sith one is another story.

"Hey, Heyyyyy! " Babu Frik exclaimed after a loud cracking sound filled the room. R2 sped off, going to see to his friend.

"General, we have an incoming transmission from the TIE." Connix shouted over to Leia.

Rose looked at Connix, anxious yet also excited, "Accept it! What did they find? Are they alright?"

"It looks like... a list of weapons, maybe?" Connix scrolled down the list in front of her, skimming over a bunch of words and numbers with a look of serious concentration on her face, "A lot of them, at that. I don't really understand it."

Several others crowded around Connix after Rose was at her side; they all tried to pass each other in order to get a good look at the screen, wondering what the significance was in the information. Lando was one of the members with interest, he joined the crowd and tried to see over them. 

"Rey, talk to me." Leia placed her hand on Rey's arm, "What's gotten in to you lately? You seem tense, frightened. Now you're hunting holocrons?"

Rey watched Leia's curious eyes moving from her face to the crowd behind her. There was a lot Rey wished she could talk about with Leia, but adding onto the burdens already present seemed selfish. Leia has the Resistance to see to and shouldn't be given anymore weight to carry on her shoulders. 

"I'm just tired, that's all."

"I know there's something more going on. What question are you trying to find an answer to?" Leia was nearly pleading with Rey now, dismissing the commotion going on behind them. 

Rey didn't look at Leia, her lips were pressed hard together. What good would mentioning any of this do? Was there any sort of benefit? Rey knew it was her problem to solve on her own. Even if sometimes she wished she had Luke for guidance or felt drawn to Leia's positive energy calling to her, offering some sense of comfort, Rey never told anyone the truth of what really happened while she was away from them. She simply didn't know how.

"Rey." Leia sighed, "I want to help you. I don't know how effectively I can do it, but please, let me try. "

Words blurted from Rey's mouth reluctantly, "Why is the Force connecting us?"

Rey gasped and covered her mouth with her hand; Leia noticed a single tear fall down Rey's cheek, "That is a big question to ask, if that's really all there is to it. I don't think any holocron will have enough information to piece together and make a satisfying answer for that."

Their eyes met, another tear fell from Rey's. She moved her hand away from her face and grunted because of her frustration. It was no use trying to hold it in - Rey felt herself losing control, "Leia, the Force has connected me and... your son."

Leia pulled back, her mouth falling slightly open. Before she could question Rey further, the sounds of a TIE filled the air. The women watched as the ship landed. Finn, Poe and BB-8 appeared before the crowd, beginning to strip themselves of their stormtrooper armor.

"Did you get the transmission?" Finn asked Rose, tossing the gear to the side. 

She glanced at the group still fighting over a good view of the transmitter, then smiled at Finn, helping him pull his chestplate off, "Yeah, we got it. How much trouble did you get into?"

Once Finn was in nothing but the black clothing that's always worn under the white armor, he said, "None. We faced absolutely no issues. Stealing this stuff was the best decision we ever made." 

"Agreed." Poe said as he walked passed them, jogging after his droid that was rolling quickly to Rey.

She knelt down, patting BB-8's head, listening to his enthusiastic noises. The droid began rolling circles around Rey and she smiled, "You are very brave, BB-8. Thank you for helping us."

"Why does my droid like you more than he likes me?" Poe took place beside her, folding his arms over his chest. The rest of his words were directed to the hyper droid, "I raised you, I care for you, I clean you, and you pick her over me?"

BB-8 stopped moving to focus his full attention on Poe, giving off one high whistle, followed by a low purring sound.

Poe's mouth gaped open, "You have some nerve to bring that up."

"Okay," Rey rolled her eyes, "the two of you can work that out later. How's the First Order looking?"

"Oh, right! You won't believe this, but..." Poe noticed then that Leia was in range to hear him, and considering her posture, he assumed she was trying to catch any information he was about to give. He called over to her, "You come hear this, too. You're not as sneaky as you used to be."

Leia rolled her eyes at Poe, walking with a limp towards him and Rey, "I wasn't trying to be sneaky."

When she stopped in front of him, she noticed the concern on his face before his words even left his mouth, "Where's your cane?"

Leia slapped his arm, "Never ask a woman where her cane is!"

Rey groaned loudly, feeling that all-too-familiar impatience clawing from underneath her skin, "Poe! What happened?"

"Right, yeah. Kylo Ren approached us. He knew who we were."

"How do you know that he knew you?" Rey was suddenly more interested, whereas Leia was more concerned.

Finn appeared beside them, confirming the claim, "He called us out. BB-8's disguise wasn't as effective as we thought."

"And you're both still alive? You're both here?" There came Rose, a mixture of disbelief and pride.

The boys started poking each other, whispering juvenile comments to one another about feeling and looking alive.

"So, what he just..." Rey searched for words, sputtering out what she could, "said hello and asked about... the droid? And then... let you go about your business?"

"Pretty much, he just never said hello." Poe nodded. BB-8 sounded off in agreement.

Leia's hand was placed over her heart, her eyes distant from the present time. Finn noticed, "Leia, I don't want to sound insensitive but Kylo didn't look very good."

Someone whistled loud enough to draw everyone's attention, causing everyone to grow silent. It was Lando, and he was pointing at the list, "I hate being the one to dish out the bad news, but I gotta tell you... this isn't just weapons that are being picked up."

"What else is there, Lando?" Leia pushed herself to walk away from Rey and the others, trying to block out the image of her lost son.

Lando started scrolling through the hundreds of items, "A lot of these look like names and ages... I think they're soldiers."

"I considered the same, but..." Connix shook her head, "that's impossible. Look how many there are. How would the First Order find that many recruits in such a short amount of time?"

"We've been scouting the galaxy, Lando. We never encountered any First Order troopers pulling civilians." Leia added. 

Lando looked back at the list, scrolling back up to the top, "This is a trade, Princess. These people aren't First Order recruits - they've come from someone or something else."

Maz Kanata climbed onto the tables edge and pushed Lando away. She adjusted the lenses over her eyes and read over the words on the screen, "Lando is right - these are people. The transcript says the trade is from an unnamed source." Maz let out a very small gasp and slowly turned to face Leia, "In exchange for these soldiers, the source is asking for the Supreme Leader's life."

Rey's heart started pounding. As fear grew within her, the presence of someone else filled the space around her. She turned her head quickly from one side to another, seeing no one who would posses this sort of energy. Still, it grew stronger, sending chills up her spine. She looked over at Leia, who was already looking back at her with great sorrow. Rey planned to run off into the forest, to hide from the others, but she was taken over by her fear after only moving a few steps away from everyone.

I can tell you who those people are.

It was the same voice she heard speaking with Kylo earlier. She stumbled backwards, somehow remaining on her feet, beginning to shiver.

_I can tell you what to expect._

"Tell me." Rey gasped.

Everyone was staring at her, but soon, they all disappeared before her eyes. 

Rey spun in circles, frantic. She looked off into the forest, up into the sky, everywhere around her.

_Young Rey._

Then she froze. Standing before her in golden robes was Snoke - his face still deformed yet his body no longer severed in half, "Come to me."

Rey was angry now, her fear abandoning her. She looked at the alien creature with visible rage.

Snoke laughed at her, "Still full of that wonderful passion, I see. Yes, you'll do just fine. Come find me - you would be unwise if you didn't. After all, I know every answer to every question that haunts you."

"You're not real. You're dead." Rey closed her eyes, trying desperately to wake up.

"I'm dead?" Snoke acted surprised, then laughed once more, "I was killed, yes, of course. And yet..."

Rey opened her eyes after sensing Snoke moving closer to her. She took a step away from him, "You deserved worse than what you got."

A smile spread slowly across his face as he peered into her eyes, "Your hatred makes that of Kylo Ren's seem like nothing. Your pain is far greater than his, as you've stored it away, allowing it to grow. Your lack of training is such a privilege to the darkside."

"I don't... I'm not..." Rey scrambled for words. 

"Do you want answers or do you want to deliver the dead body of Ben Solo to his mother?" Snoke was menacing now, no longer smiling or laughing, "Hmm? Do you want to aid your little Rebellion or do you want to watch them all die? There are three hundred trained Sith Troopers about to be loaded onto First Order freighters, but more importantly, there are six Chaos Vessels who wield blood red lightsabers leading this army. I know how to defeat these Vessels." 

Rey fell to her knees, defeated. Thoughts of her friends corpses filled her mind, an image of Leia lying dead beside her son. Everything and everyone Rey knew was gone, leaving her alone and afraid. 

He towered over her, listening to her broken voice, "What do I need to do? Where do I find you?"

Snoke leaned down, grabbing on to her face, "Go to Moraband."

Quickly, she nodded. Snoke could sense her surrender with ease and stood back up, delighted with the darkness he saw inside of her. Rey's emotions were so overwhelming that somehow, in that moment, she felt nothing. 

"How strong does your Rebellion seem now?" Snoke chuckled, "Only you can save them and only I can show you how. I will see you soon, Rey."

She was trying to find any reason to keep moving, to keep trying to end this war. She searched her mind for any hint of light, of hope, to tame the overbearing fear inside of her. That's when Ben appeared in her mind. As she focused on him, bringing more of him into her consciousness, she reached out to him. He smiled and reached for her, but before she could get to him, he fell lifeless to the ground.

Rey's consciousness snapped back to the base, her face was wet with tears. The Resistance was standing before her, silent and afraid. Their expressions were a mix of sorrow, shock and genuine horror. Maz was holding on to Leia's arm, preventing Leia from going to Rey. Poe was holding on to Finn and Rose, they were all giving her a different sort of expression.

Rey knew she was about to fall, gasping for enough air to say what she could, "Sith troopers. Chaos Vessels. Leia, we... can't."

She fell over, drifting off into the darkness of unconsciousness.


	3. Advice

Finn returned to the uproar of the Resistance members after carrying Rey to the medical unit and instructing BB-8 to look after her. Everyone was yelling out a question or shouting their concerns, speaking over each other and disregarding any plea for silence that came from Leia or Lando. 

He stopped once he was standing between Rose and Poe, who both stood in silence as they watched the outbreak of panic. Chewbacca was pacing back and forth with his ears covered, attempting to drown out the noise. 

Some members were packing up their things, preparing to flee, uninterested in being told of any reason that would give value to their cause.

Leia realized her voice could no longer reach a high volume and knew speaking to any questions she heard would be pointless. Lando also grew weary rather quickly; he had waved his arms and shouted back at everyone until he lost the energy to carry on trying to be a voice of reason. 

The only other influential being was Maz, but she was no where to be found. 

"What do we do?" Rose asked, a question for either Finn or Poe.

Finn looked down at her, upset from the hopeless look on her face. Then he looked at Poe, taking note to the clenched fists and tense jawline. Finn rightfully assumed that Poe hadn't even heard Rose's question and decided to say something to her just so she'd know someone was listening, "We do what we have to."

"Which is?" She could only bring herself to look at Finn for a split second before needing to face the crowd again. 

"I don't know yet."

When Poe saw Leia begin her slow walk away from all the yelling and anger, he ran to help her reach her destination. Once he grabbed onto her arm and began guiding her steps, she spoke with an aggressive tone, "I can walk, Poe. I don't know why you keep insisting I'm incapable of walking without help. I'm not as weak as you think I am."

She reached a small boulder on the ground and he still held on to her as she sat down. 

He knelt before her, placing his hands on either side of her face, "I don't think you're weak, Leia. You're the strongest, bravest person I have ever or will ever meet. But I know you're tired. There's nothing wrong with being tired."

Leia placed her hands on top of his and pulled them off of her face, sighing, "I'm not tired, either. I'm just waiting for everyone else to calm down."

"Leia," he would have whispered but he knew she wouldn't hear him, "anyone who's dealt with this their entire life would be tired. You're not a droid."

She glanced over his face, seeing so much of her own stubbornness there, yet she also saw her compassion and determination. Then her focus was given back to the riot and she noticed a lot of herself in everyone- the ones screaming for answers, the ones begging for hope, even the ones crying over their fear. 

For decades she spent her life in the heart of war, wanting to always be the one who lead the good people of the galaxy to victory. She wanted to be a part of what created peace and a promising future. Time and time again, she had done just that - her name was forever etched into the history of rebellion as one of the leaders dedicated to the cause. 

Leia loved being a part of it until it was her own son she was up against. It didn't matter which side of the war won, Leia was going to lose. There was no victory in sight for her anymore, there was no reason for hope. This simply wasn't her fight anymore.

"I've realized something just now." She almost smiled, but her lips just wouldn't budge, "Can you get their attention?"

Poe, however, did smile and rose to his feet, screaming multiple times for R2, flailing his arms in the droids direction. It took a minute, but R2 finally looked away from an anxiously pacing wookie, seeing Poe jumping up and down and waving like a mad-man. 

"Cover your ears." Poe said to Leia as he knelt down to R2. 

After receiving Poe's instruction, the droid shoved himself through the crowd, stopping in the middle of them. Leia did as told and covered her ears when Poe plugged his. R2 released a whistle so high in pitch that it brought pain to everyone. They fell back, moaning and grunting, holding on to their ears and closing their eyes tight. They weren't screaming anymore, though, and Poe took that as his opening.

"Listen up, everyone!" He made a point to eye those who were about to board a transport. They all looked at him, most still recovering from the exposure to high frequency sound waves, but he carried on, "If we could all just take a couple of minutes to shut up, General Organa has something she would like to say. You can all go back to acting like a bunch of rabid animals afterwards."

Poe looked down at Leia and gave her shoulder a quick squeeze, then took place standing attention off to the side of where she sat. 

Leia looked around, people were straightening their posture and eyeing her with a mixed bag of emotions. Her lips granted her the strength to smile now as she spoke her peace, "I know this worry you feel right now. The fear of an unknown future, the pain of potential loss, that feeling of being so small, going up against something so big. Your anger is rational, your questions are valid and your frustrations are understood. I've seen this many times, this is nothing new.

You all stand in a position that many others have stood in and some of you, like myself, have already stood here once before. My life revolved around this, my value was placed souly within battles which I believed were mine to win. But as I stood in the middle of your fire just now, it came to my attention that I'm no longer a flame, I'm just the burning wood. 

I need you all to know that what I'm about to say is not me surrendering. I'm not admitting defeat or throwing away my faith in your victory. I see your passion, your desire for reason to keep going. There's an energy pulsing to life between all of you, a Force that brought you here together with purpose and meaning. I know that you can win this war, I know you all can help rebuild the Galactic Republic, I know you can pave a clear path of success for many generations that will live after we are gone, so that they don't have to stand where you are now. I also know that I am doing you all a disservice by trying to lead you in this fight. I am stretching out my past because I could never see my future without it.

The time I have left is fleeting. I'm getting old, I'm sure some of you have noticed. In my final days, there is something far greater that desperately needs my full attention - something that always needed it, but I was too foolish to understand that until it was too late.

I'll end by telling you this - never go into battle with fear as your ally. Be strong, be courageous and be proud of the person you are. It has been an honor leading you for as long as I was able, but I'm retiring and giving the role of Leading General to Poe Dameron. He is obnoxious and stubborn and a bit arrogant... just like I was. He is not afraid. He will lead you where you need to be to reign victorious once again. I thank you all for listening to me, as you always have and I expect you to give Poe the same amount of respect."

Even if Poe noticed Finn and Rose both looking confidently at him, he hesitated to show any gratitude he could possibly be feeling. Leia was grinning up at him and the Resistance all stood like they were waiting for him to do a trick. 

"Uhh," Poe scratched the top of his head, then quickly pointed over to Finn, "I dub thee Second in Command to Finn. Feel free to ask your questions one at a time, in a civil manner, to him while I take a moment to speak with Leia."

"Is Third in Command a thing?" Finn whispered to Rose as nearly every eye in this forest inspected him.

"No it is not." Rose said and gave Finn a friendly slap on his back, moving away from him as the questions restarted.

"Leia, I said you were tired. You could've just taken a nap or something." Poe was back on his knees in front of her, "I can't do this. I can't do what you did."

She caressed his face, "Yes, you can. As long as you lead by support and never by command."

"What does that even mean?"

"Help and encourage them, Poe, don't simply boss them around."

Poe turned around, checking on Finn. So far things seemed to be calm, even if Finn was answering nearly every question with I don't know, but we will definitely find out.

"I believe in you." Leia said softly to him. 

Poe felt the tears forming in his eyes and chose to stand and face the crowd, hoping that feeling any pressure from them would lessen his emotions, "Alright, everyone, listen up. You want answers? Well, I know where to get them."

Finn had no idea what exactly Poe was hinting at until he followed his friend's gaze. There at the end of his line of vision was their stolen TIE. It clicked in Finn's head so quickly then that he was almost ashamed that hadn't already been thought of.

"We can reset the TIE to its previous settings, have Rose rewire it to connect to the First Order's system." Finn was thinking it over outloud, looking for error and hoping there was none, "It'll pick up their transmissions, we could find the location of the trade."

"Won't they pick up their stolen ship's signal? Allowing them to locate us?" One of the members questioned in a harsh tone. 

Poe nodded enthusiastically and pointed at her, "That's our new leader in the Logistics department. Consider this a promotion."

"Congratulations!" Finn smiled at her, contemplating his next word.

"I may be able to get back into their systems undetected." Rose seemed to appear from thin air, "I just cut the whole circuit as a quick way to avoid being tracked when it was first stolen. Give me time to look over a few blueprints and pull supplies; I'm positive this is something I can do."

The two men moved their sights from Rose to each other - Finn nodded to Poe as if answering a question no one else heard. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, meet our new lead Technician!" Poe stated and Finn clapped for her.

"I've been the lead tech for quite a while now." Rose still managed a small laugh, knowing that the guys were trying to lighten the mood.

Chewbacca roared, eager to hear of his new role within the Resistance. 

Poe didn't have to put much thought into it, "Mascot. Definitely the face of the Resistance."

Leia felt the negative energy being pushed away from the base as a new hope seemed to ease itself all around them. It wasn't beneath her to admit that Poe and Finn's approach to ease a crowd was a bit childish, but it would be wrong of her to think that it wasn't effective.

*****

Rey's eyes fluttered open. She was in the medical unit, lying on a cot. She sat up and looked around, seeing no one with her but BB-8. He rolled slowly towards her, looking up at her with a type curiosity only a droid could show. 

She grinned slightly to him and let her legs dangle over the side of the cot, "Where is everyone?"

BB-8 explained that Leia was holding a meeting and that there was a lot of yelling going on. 

"I'm not surprised. Leia has been a Rebel since she was my age. Admitting defeat will be hard for her." Rey looked thoughtfully at BB-8, pressing her palm into the top of her head, hoping to soothe the ache, "You know, you're the reason I'm here. You're the reason I'm not stuck on Jakku anymore. You were my first friend in a very long time." Rey saw the holodisc on a table beside her. She picked it up and hopped down to the floor, kneeling in front of the droid, "Since you pretty much recruited me, I'm going to ask you a favor which you'll need to keep to yourself. Can you upload a map to Moraband onto this?"

BB-8 tilted himself away from her, his head shifting to the side. He beeped sadly to Rey as his dataport opened.

"You're right, it is dangerous. But I have to go." Rey waited for the droid to release her disc, then placed it inside of a pocket under her belt, "I'm being very serious. Don't tell the others, okay?"

BB-8 made no noise, no promises, but Rey allowed it. She mapped out the base in her head, thinking of a way to get to her staff and satchel without being seen. 

She walked quietly out of the back exit of the medical unit, ducking behind trees and boulders as she crept through the far end of the base. She could sense the pulse of life in the center of the base where the others were gathered and kept her mind there with them in case anyone decided to move. 

After climbing up the side of the hill which her quarters were built on, she crawled under the tarp that covered her room. Once inside, she ran to her desk and started cramming the Jedi texts in her satchel. Under the last book was Luke's broken lightsaber - the broken kyber crystal barely secured within the hilt. She pulled a piece of the crystal out and added it to her bag, leaving the rest. For some reason, carrying a piece of the lightsaber with her on missions made her feel safe. 

As she fastened her satchel around her body, someone whispered her name. 

She turned around and found Maz looking at her curiously. Rey locked eyes with the short creature and held her hand out, her staff flew through the air and slammed into her palm.

"I remember years ago, there was a boy that came from nothing. He was no one." Maz leaned against the wall, speaking casually, "His parents were gone, he didn't know where, and he was left alone to fend for himself as a young child. Sounds familiar, I'm sure."

Rey held on to the strap of her staff after placing it across her back, listening with heightened interest to Maz.

"A group of Rebels found him and took him in. He became part of their family and as he grew older, he became a very strong Jedi." Maz moved closer to Rey, "He disappeared after freeing his home planet from the Empire. I remember it well."

"Why are you telling me this?" Rey asked.

"Because you are on the same path he once stood on and you are making the same decisions he once made. He wasn't going alone, though; he had many people to pull him out of the darkness. I know why you want those holocrons, Rey. What will you do if you are unable to resist the temptations of the dark side?"

"I will be able to resist it." Rey was angry at Maz's doubt.

Maz shook her head, "And yet here you are, walking into it. The darkness can be very deceiving, showing you things that are not truly there, taking away what still exists. If you lose focus, it will win. It is a dangerous path to walk on alone."

Rey moved passed Maz, taking a deep breath, "I've always been alone. This is no different for me." She pulled back the tarp, but before she began her way to the surface, Maz had one more thing to say.

"My dear, you have never been alone."

Rey looked at the back of Maz's head, knowing exactly what she meant but choosing to pass on the conversation.

Maz sensed Rey's absence shortly after and walked over to the desk, flipping through pages of notes and drawings as she thought of the look in Rey's eyes. 

There was nothing to feel other than fear for the girl.

Still, Maz was trying to keep any hope alive considering it wasn't too late to restore the piece of Rey that's always been missing. The fate of the galaxy and of the Force were in the hands of two hopelessly lost individuals.

"Oh, Anakin." Maz sighed, resting her head on the desk, "The darkness is growing so strong. Be with him... be with your grandson."

******

Kylo sat in his quarters, debating his next move. Thinking about the First Order's fight against the Resistance seemed so weak in comparison to what he was battling inside of him. He felt no need condemning the intruders, he saw no point in it. So much of his previous rage existed by the actions of Snoke and his overwhelming anger towards Luke. They were both gone now. He had nothing but the pain of regret to fuel the darkness within him, but even that did nothing to bring back his hunger for power and control. 

Maybe if Hux was truly a threat to him, things would be different. But Kylo knew he could break Hux's neck, killing him in an instant, with the simple flick of his wrist. 

The dark side feeds off of pain, but Kylo had become numb to his own. He would think about his dad, every detail of the death he bestowed upon him, but that pain didn't draw the kind of darkness that made a Force-user strong - Kylo was becoming an empty shell. He had lost everything, therefore had nothing left to fear or to gain. 

Maybe he should seek out the voice that was haunting him, it could offer him something worth working towards. Or maybe he should just sit it out and see for himself if Rey was really going to kill him, since she didn't need him for anything else.

Displayed across the room was his grandfather's helmet. He sighed as he examined it, hearing faint echoes of the past.

"Forgive me, grandfather." Kylo spoke with the mask as he had done many times before, "I will never be as strong as you were, I will never be as powerful... not as a Sith or as a Jedi. I've failed to honor Vader and I've failed... to avenge Anakin."

He hung his head and closed his eyes, clearing his mind, losing himself in the silence around him. There was nothing but peace within the silence, the sort of peace a person expects from death. 

_My strength only benefitted the darkness, it did nothing for me._

Quickly, Kylo looked back up at the mask, wondering if he'd simply imagined the voice.

"Then why did you choose to go back to the light at the very end of your life? If the darkness had been offering you nothing, why not turn sooner?" 

_Fear and purpose. I feared the Emporer, I knew if I left, he would kill me. And I had purpose within the darkness, goals set for me. I felt needed by the dark side since the Jedi rejected me. I'm not certain what my life would have looked like had I lived on after saving Luke. I imagine, though, it would look like yours does now._

"Hopeless? Directionless? Alone? Sometimes I regret killing Snoke - he at least fueled my fire." Kylo accepted insanity, but enjoyed the company that came with it.

_The dark side takes advantage of those who seek it out in order to fuel those who own it. Once it's taken all you have, it leaves you for dead, replaces you with someone else who hears its calls and is vulnerable to fall prey to it._

"So, I've been rejected by the light and the dark? My destiny was to simply die with no sense of glory." Kylo chose to laugh about the senselessness of his being and leaned back to relax, "I might as well get comfortable."

He noticed the slightest hint of movement coming from behind Vader's helmet and leaned forward, trying to make out what was happening. A figure was forming, taking the shape of a person and then standing before him was clearly a young Jedi with long hair.

"I'm certain you had no idea what I looked like before wearing that helmet, so I feel introductions are in order. I'm Anakin Skywalker. I'm your grandfather."

It was amusing to see a man who appeared to be younger than Kylo claiming to be his grandfather, yet he knew it was true. He knew it was Anakin.

"Why now?" Kylo was genuinely curious why, after all this time, his grandfather would use his powers through the Force to show up. After all those years Kylo spent seeking him out, talking to his helmet, Anakin decided today was the day.

"I couldn't before. A Force ghost draws from the energy of the light, we come to those who seek guidance and knowledge intended for good, not evil. You've always called upon Darth Vader - I am not him."

Kylo knew he was staring, but he was fascinated. Hearing the clear voice of Anakin and not the robotic noise of Vader. Seeing an actual person with a face that showed expression, seeing his actual grandfather... Kylo wasn't sure how he felt.

Anakin stood unmoving behind the helmet that represented his fall, looking at his grandchild with admiration and remorse.

"The dark side chose you and used you. It manipulated your family, making them fear you so they would abandon you. It was all a plan, every bit of what's happened. A plan created long ago as a means to fuel one particular Sith Lord, so that he may one day rise again with the power of immortality." 

"Lord Sidious?" Kylo had numerous theories in his mind begging for attention.

Anakin smiled, breathing out a weak laugh. Kylo impatiently waited as Anakin debated his response.

"Have you ever heard the tragedy... of Darth Plagueis the Wise?"


	4. Fear

Kylo was still as he watched Hux double-check the Commanders and stormtroopers who were lined up to board the freighter, his hood casting a shadow on his face. He stopped a passing droid with his foot; it made some unpleasant sounds as he took the data pad from its short, robotic arms. He scrolled through it, reviewing what exactly it is that Hux had bargained for. 

It was page after page of names and numbers, some things were even written in a language he was not familiar with. It seemed to be too much for the First Order to take as is and he had no idea what exactly Hux was planning for all of it in the first place. 

Then Kylo saw very familiar words, taking notice to them being names of people with... ages beside them? But if these were the names of soldiers, that meant Anakin had been right about what he told Kylo; there really was something far more dangerous taking place than the First Order taking full control of the galaxy. 

It appeared to him that Hux agreed to something he shouldn't have, like the ignorant, power hungry inferior he was. 

When Kylo made it to very last page and saw a recent update on the last line, fear smothered him in an instant. It was all true. It really was happening.

He dropped the data pad and stormed off to Hux, shouting at the stupid man, "General Hux! I forbid this exchange." His voice echoed around the dock. 

Hux didn't even bother looking at Kylo, "You do? Well, feel free to add it to our suggestion box."

"You think this is funny? Do you even know who exactly you are doing trades with?" When Kylo was closing in on Hux, four troopers broke from the line and placed themselves between the two, pointing their blasters at Kylo. 

He halted, shocked for whatever reason.

Again, Hux spoke without giving his undivided attention away, "You see, Ren, whoever I'm doing trades with hates you even more than I do." More troopers broke from the line, weapons aimed. Hux carried on, "It has been a long time coming, don't you agree? You've been spending so much time in your head that you failed to notice all that was going on around you. You're too weak and foolish to claim title as Supreme Leader, enough of us think so. Therefore, you've been demoted." With that being said, Hux finally looked passed the troopers at Kylo, choosing above all else to smile.

Kylo had his hand rested on the hilt of his lightsaber, "Hux, put your pride aside and listen to me. Did you even read what you're picking up?"

"Of course I read what I'm picking up." Hux barked the words at Kylo and then repeated the question to himself, thinking maybe he heard it wrong the first time. He shook his head quickly, breaking free of his thoughts, "It's an army. Soldiers trained since birth in the hidden worlds of the outer rim. An elite force that will render the Resistance completely useless, leaving them with no option but to surrender to me. I'll have the galaxy bowing at my feet."

Kylo was breathing heavily, his muscles felt tense, "Do you know... what a Chaos Vessel is?"

Hux brushed past the stormtroopers, waving to them so they'd lower their weapons. He stood face to face with Kylo, "I don't care what it is, Ren. I care what it will do to help me take full control of every single being within this disgusting, disordered galaxy."

Kylo straightened his posture, standing a bit taller than Hux now, "You're being set up. Whoever you're making this trade with is not your ally, General Hux. He will kill you. It will be easy for him to do."

"I beg to differ." Hux turned, going back to his original spot. He tossed the words over his shoulder like small daggers with arrogance attached to them, "And you may call me Supreme Leader. The anonymous donor did and... well, I quite liked it. You're in no mental state to run this operation, he told me that himself. Which reminds me of one more thing..." Hux smiled larger than before, speaking casually, "At first he asked for nothing in return, but later he requested I severe your body in half as a means to repay him. Eventually, though, we settled on just seeing you dead." Kylo's thoughts stayed glued on Hux's statement about severing his body in half - it sent chills down his spine. All the broken pieces of the Sith's story were coming quickly together and this particular statement belonged to a piece of Snoke. He didn't have long to process it before Hux's voice filled his ears again, "Let's meet our end of the bargain, soldiers."

The stormtroopers lifted their blasters on command, firing them immediately. Kylo ignited his saber, using it to knock some of the blasts back. He looked behind him to see how far the lift was, slowly easing himself backwards towards the hallway. If he turned to run, he'd risk getting hit in the back. Fortunately it didn't take him long to realize his only option if he wanted to buy time.

After several deep breaths and a few more steps back, he pushed his hand out in front of him, using the Force to send out a wave of energy which knocked almost everyone in the hangar down, including Hux.

Hux eyed Kylo, anger swelling in his veins as he saw the man run off down the halls. At the top of his lungs, he yelled, "Lock down the ship! Alert all personnel to find him and kill him!"

Kylo entered the lift. As soon as the door shut, it began to soar towards the top floor. 

After turning off his saber, an alarm began to sound throughout the ship. He pressed a button that completely stopped the lift, then pressed his forehead to the wall and started talking to himself as he attempted to come up with a plan. He knew who to contact, he just didn't know how he would reach a comlink without dying first.

A map of the ship was clear in his mind. He thought of each floor and each room, thought about which security measures would be in place and which hangars would be heavily guarded. Taking his own ship was obviously no option, they probably already blew it up. 

His thoughts eventually brought him to the lower deck where the new recruit's quarters were. Typically in a situation like this one, their mentors fled to join search parties, though the recruits were forced to stay in their rooms; they're viewed as inconveniences during battles and missions because of their ignorance. Sure, there would be a lot of them down there, but getting through them wouldn't be much of a task.

Kylo punched the panel once more and the lift dropped. It took everything inside of him to remain focused on the present moment, his current need to just survive, instead of jumping ahead to contemplate the return of the Sith.

******

Rey was moving quickly through the field of landed X-wings and Y-wings, searching for any ship that wouldn't require a droid as co-pilot and falling short. She spun circles, knowing it was only a matter of time before the others started to look for her. 

_Leia is dying._

"What?" Rey felt winded, frightened by the abrupt interruption of her own thoughts. She couldn't sense Snoke anywhere around her like she had before - he was simply invading her mind at will now.

_You're draining the life from her. I just wanted you to know what your presence is doing to those around you._

"I'm not doing anything but what you've told me to do."

_Your loyalty to me is a commitment to the darkness inside of you, yet you hold a very minor sense of urgency to fulfill my wishes. You're holding on to a light that is not yours._

Rey took deep, even breaths as she dug deep in her mind for any hint of rationality. Everything seemed to be falling apart, herself especially. But why? What's changed so drastically to create such an impact on her life that she's become completely out of control of it?

_Why must you fool yourself?_

"Shut up." She hissed, beginning her search again. The Falcon was landed too close to the commotion coming from the Resistance; she would be spotted boarding it.

_Rey, stop wasting my time._

"As far as I'm concerned, you're wasting mine." 

There was laughter, from Snoke and from the base. Rey concentrated on the base, hearing chuckles, cheers, and clapping. She heard Finn and Poe, Rose and Connix. She couldn't help but ease her way towards them, making sure she stayed hidden. 

She crouched behind one of the dashboards and looked over to the crowd of Resistance members. Rose and Connix were staring at some sort of blueprints, Finn and Poe were in the middle of the crowd, offering handshakes and friendly formalities. Something's happened. Why is everyone so happy? Had they not heard her warning before she passed out?

_They seem so concerned for you, don't they? Just look at all the devastation before you!_

Rey leaned her back against the dashboard, "They... they don't need me, do they?"

_Of course they don't. What exactly can you do for them? Other than lash out at them and cause hopeless uncertainty. You leave them no room to be happy as they are now, because you have passion for achieving results and feel they only slow you down._

Arguing his statement would be useless, because Rey agreed with him. Lately it has been worse - they did slow her down. They didn't approach any issues with the mentality to immediately resolve them, they stood around and planned, debated, argued. Rey was the only one who acted first.

_Doing instead of thinking, that's your strategy. It's why I'm uncertain of your hesitation to take the Falcon. It is your ship, isn't it? You're doing what's needed, are you not? Don't let them hold you back now._

Rey hung her head, her breathing becoming uneven. She searched within herself and realized that Snoke was right - there was no reason for her to be sneaking around and trying to escape from her own base. She should be free to come and go as she pleases, and she was only going somewhere which would give her information to help end this stupid war. She wasn't doing anything wrong.

_Do what you must._

Soon, Rey was standing tall and marching towards the Falcon, sure of herself and her decision. As she entered the clearing, she passed through the others without a glance. Her focus was on the Falcon, nothing else.

"Rey?" Finn said and soon after, his hand was rested on her shoulder. 

She spun around and looked at him, taking a step back, "Yes?"

Poe was walking towards them, eyes on Rey, "Hey, how ya feelin'?"

"I'm fine. What's... going on here?" She sort of smiled, an angry sort of smile, while gesturing to the group which was formed behind the two men. 

They both turned to look behind them at the same moment Rose joined them. Rose looked Rey up and down, squinting her eyes as she noticed Rey's bag and defensive stance, "I haven't prepped the TIE yet, Rey. No rush. I have a scanner hooked to the dashboard now downloading files. It'll be a few more minutes."

"What are you talking about?" Rey asked her curiously then quickly shook her head, "Nevermind. I'm not waiting for the TIE to do anything, I'm heading somewhere unrelated to whatever plan you've all come up with here... without me."

"Now hold on a second," Finn held up his hand, sensing Rey's tone and the underlying anger within it, "we were going to run it passed you. I didn't know you had woken up yet. BB-8 didn't alert us."

Rey took another step back, "You needed a droid to warn you about me waking up? What, so you could prepare yourselves for my presence?"

Rose tilted her head, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I'm leaving, though. I have something to see to."

Finn hung his head, taking a few deep breaths before speaking again, "I'll come with you. Poe can stay with Rose to lead the crew to wherever this First Order exchange is taking place."

"I need to go alone. It's important and I'm willing to bet I'll find answers good enough to help aid you when facing the First Order." 

"Doing anything alone right now is dangerous, Rey." Rose took a step forward, looking at Rey with a sort of sadness. Rey looked so afraid and it was easy to see she was trying to hide it.

Rey turned her back to them, "I can handle it."

"I'll be quiet. It'll be like I'm not even there." Finn spun around towards his quarters, about to take a step forward to retrieve his things. 

But Rey's words stopped him; they came out in a hiss, her anger becoming more evident, "I said I'm going alone, Finn. I don't need anyone to go with me."

Poe held Finn back as he tried to walk to Rey, then directed some words to her, "At least take my droid."

"No." Rey shouted over her shoulder, nearing the Falcon. 

Finn pulled away from Poe and ran to Rey, placing himself between her and the ship. He spoke with a rushed voice, "Look, I don't know what you're going through right now because you won't talk to anyone about it, but I can't let you go do whatever you're trying to do without having someone go with you. What if something happens and you need help? What if we can't find you?"

"Wouldn't be much of a loss, would it? It seems to me you've got everything figured out here without my help. I'm just getting in the way here and... hurting some of you." Rey fought back her tears as she thought about Leia, "Move. Let me go."

"Don't talk like that. We need you." Finn pleaded and when he tried to touch her, she moved away. 

She shook her head, "I don't need you. Not now, not for this."

It felt like taking a lightsaber to the heart. Slowly, Finn moved out of her way and watched at she climbed into the Falcon with no glance behind her. Whatever she was going through was something she'd have to face alone, he saw that now. 

Poe and Rose both stood beside him as the Falcon moved towards the sky, wind blowing against all of them.

"Should we follow her?" Poe asked sadly.

"No." Rose answered for Finn, placing her hand gently on his back, "Let her go. I'm going to check on the TIE."

******

Kylo had gone over his plan in his mind several times and watched as the door slid soon slid open, revealing an empty hallway. He kept his hilt in his hand, hoping he wouldn't have to ignite it while down here.

Quickly, he paced to the office, channeling the energy around him and sensing life close by. There was a high level of fear present within the quarters and it was a fear caused by the thought of him.

When he turned the last corner, he stopped all movement. Dozens of very young stormtroopers stood side by side, blasters aimed ahead. Kylo held up his hands, showing no threat. He did wish that he hadn't been holding his hilt, though, since the sight of it only increased their fear; the troopers standing in front of the group were trembling. 

"Please, lower your weapons. Let me through." He spoke calmly as he lowered his arms, "I just need to use the dashboard down the hallway."

"We... can't. We'll be... punished." One of the troopers took a step forward, "We have to... shoot you."

"No, you don't." Kylo said confidently, "You don't have to do anything the First Order asks of you."

Another trooper pushed through the crowd, taking the lead, "What do you need the dashboard for?" 

"I need to send out a signal so that I can get out of here." Kylo let the wave of vulnerability wash over him. He knew when he was at his lowest point, he didn't seem at all threatening to anyone who looked at him.

Several of the recruits lowered their weapons. The one who questioned him removed their helmet, revealing the face of a young girl with dark hair, "They said you're a traitor, that you're dangerous. They left us here, told us to hide. We're supposed to alert them if you come down here."

"I'm not exactly a traitor." He shrugged and looked at her, feeling ill. She was too young for this sort of life. 

They stared at each other for a short moment and she half smiled, "That's unfortunate. If you were a traitor, I'd feel better about letting you through." Kylo relaxed completely as he watched her turn around, looking at the others and speaking confidently, "Let him go."

Kylo thought of one particular person as he watched this young girl lead the others with such a light spirit... his mom.

"Have you lost your mind? We have orders to follow. If we don't, we'll be executed." Someone shouted at her. 

She nearly laughed, but it was a tired laugh, "I feel like I've already lost. None of us chose this life, guys, but we can choose what we do with it. We can find some way to get out of it."

One spark can light a fire, Kylo thought to himself and clipped his hilt to his belt.

Slowly, the troopers began to part, revealing a clear path to the office. Where there was once fear and darkness, there was now hope and light. Kylo placed his hand on the girl's shoulder, pride overwhelming him, "Thank you. Think you can lock down this floor and stand guard?"

"Yeah. SG-2240 is a tech wiz, he can bypass all of the security censors down here. We sneak out at night sometimes, roaming the ship and stealing from the cafeteria."

Few troopers gasped at her revealing such information. Then, another trooper came forward, taking off their helmet. He had blonde hair and tan color dots covered most of his face, "My dad installed most of the security systems on this ship. I have an unfair advantage."

Kylo's face lit up as he felt amusement in this situation. He nodded to the blonde boy, "Alright, then. You come with me. Everyone else," he looked down at the girl, "do whatever she says."

She smiled, flattered by his words, then looked at SG-2240, "Don't forget to block us from their scans or else they'll detect the signal he sends out."

Kylo felt extremely idiotic for never taking that into consideration himself. 

He made a move down the hall and SG-2240 followed, having to jog in order to keep up with Kylo's pace. The girl placed her helmet back over her head and looked over her friends, "Let's do this."

In unison, they readied their weapons and scattered, finding places to hide while keeping watch. 

Once Kylo and the young boy entered the office, SG-2240 slid across the floor and stopped directly in front of the panel. Kylo watched as the dashboard was being rewired.

"Okay, the main monitor's should be frozen on our current setting, so now..." the lights dimmed as power drained from the lower deck. The kid grunted as he pulled on something. Soon, a small spark flew from the panel, "Lift is locked, it won't be able to move down to this level. And..." Kylo was genuinely amazed by a child hacking in to the all mighty First Orders systems with ease. The lights powered back on, "Now you can use the comlinks. It won't register anywhere else in the ship. We're basically invisible."

Kylo couldn't help but laugh, "Thank you, SG-2240."

The kid appeared bashful, "Well, you're welcome. If you want, you can call me Sarge."

Something clicked inside of Kylo, something that refused to go unnoticed or be unheard. As he looked at this boy, one whose life was most likely ruined by an Order he was part of, he knew what needed to happen, "Do you and the others want to go with me?"

There was no plan if the kid said yes - Kylo didn't know what he'd do with a bunch of children. Still, he could feel deep inside him it's what needed to be done. Although, thinking of a bunch of kids sitting on the ship he was about to summon was a bit of a stretch. 

Sarge nodded excitedly, "Yeah! I think everyone would be good with that! Some of them still have families out there somewhere. I think they'd like the chance to go home."

Kylo patted the kid's back and turned on the comlink, sending his signal.

A hologram appeared on the dashboard as Kylo's source for an escape answered his call.

"Master Ren, how are you?" One of his Knights said upon seeing him.

"Trudgen, I need to be picked up." Kylo said simply, "I'll send the coordinates of the ship's location."

"Alright, I'll come. Give me a few minutes to prepare the transport." Trudgen sounded excited, hardly intimidating.

"No transport, Trudgen, I need all of you to come." 

Trudgen was pushed out of frame when another Knight took over, "What's happened?"

Kylo hesitated to answer, but he knew where his Knights loyalty rested, "The First Order has turned against me. General Hux has commanded all units to find me and kill me."


	5. Conflict

The Night Buzzard crept below the First Order ship, connecting to the emergency exit. Sarge opened the hatch, falling backwards into Kylo as the Knights began to fill the room.

"Get the others." Kylo whispered to the boy, and watched him run into the hall.

"Twenty-two children?" Kuruk said, "Ren, have you gone mad?"

"The fearsome Knights of Ren, murderers, thieves, liars and warriors, now opening up their very own Orphanage." Vicrul said, placing himself beside Kuruk, "If that's not a twist in our story then I'm afraid to know what would be."

"I nominate Cardo to be the mother." Ushar looked over at his friend, giving him a slight nod.

Cardo faced Ushar and powered on his arm canon.

Ushar took a step back, "Nevermind, I'll do it."

Kylo's head began to tingle, which was followed by the sound of blasters in the hallway. Impulsively, Kylo grabbed and ignited his lightsaber, running towards the noise. The kids were under attack. 

"Knights, kill the larger troopers, save the kids." Kylo shouted and ran out of their view. He was deflecting the blasts as he moved through the kids, being conscious of where he swung his saber.

"Who is attacking our children?" Vicrul questioned angrily and ran from the room. All of the Knights filed out of the room except for Kuruk, who stayed by the entrance to direct the kids, "Recruits! Disengage! Come board the ship!"

Several kids ran to him at once, though they did question whether or not to trust these men for the slightest moment.

Kuruk was getting a head count as the kids ran passed him while the other Knights plowed through a sea of stormtroopers effortlessly. Kylo sliced through the troopers and knocked back lazer bolts as if he didn't even have to think about what he was doing. Kuruk was always fascinated by the sight of Kylo's fighting skills. 

There were two kids left, standing on either side of Kylo, shooting down troopers with blasters they shouldn't even know how to use. 

"We should go." Ushar shouted as the last of their enemy fell, "More will come."

Kylo could sense this as well, "And soon."

"Well, come on, then." Vicrul demanded, walking back to the ship. 

The other Knights followed behind him, and Sarge was at the end of the line. The trooper standing with Kylo removed her helmet - it was the same girl from before. 

"Come on." He said to her, moving forward once she was walking beside him. 

"I can't believe I just did that!" She shouted and looked up at him, "I feel like a hero or something!"

Kylo looked straight ahead now, smiling about her excitement. He hadn't noticed how his long strides pushed him past her - he forgot how small these kids were compared to him. 

"Look out!" Kuruk yelled and Kylo heard blaster fire behind him. 

He spun around quickly and watched as the girl fell to her knees. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion now. Another group of stormtroopers emerged from around the corner, running at Kylo and stepping on the girls lifeless body to get to him. Sarge was screaming out in pain. 

This energy fed Kylo in the oddest way. He ignited his saber once again and took one step forward.

Kuruk had been intrigued by Kylo's fighting only moments ago, but he knew what was about to happen now would terrify anyone who had never witnessed it before.

Kylo showed no remorse, crashing into the stormtroopers sometimes three at a time. He yelled out with a menacing rage, using the Force to throw soldiers into each other while slicing through the rest. He was furious, but the most unbelievable part of it all... he was untouchable. It didn't matter how many came after him at a time, they stood no chance against him.

****

Leia was watching a small group within the Resistance getting ready to depart on their mission to scope the outer rim. Rose had successfully tracked the First Orders location for their exchange and Poe planned to destroy as much of the inventory as possible. 

Even though Leia was worried for all who were going, she had faith in Poe and knew he'd come such a long way since the first time she'd met him. 

"Everyone needs to keep in mind their location at all times and make sure you stay out of range until I give the signal." Poe was standing in front of the TIE, his helmet in hand as he looked over all the faces before him, "Once we're out there, we can't communicate freely. I'm afraid they'll intercept the signals from our comlinks if we use them. We have to remain invisible, no matter what, until I'm confident we can strike."

"What if you're never confident?" Someone asked, their voice shaking a bit. 

Poe shook his head, sighing a bit, "Then we'll retreat and meet back here to draw up a better plan. We won't fight if the threat is too large. There will be no losses today... hopefully there will be no losses at all."

"Is everyone all set?" Finn spoke up and took place beside Poe, "Everyone partnered up?"

The crowd nodded and moved off for their ships two at a time. Leia held tight to her mother's necklace as she watched them all prepare for lift off. Lando appeared from behind her, grinning a bit - it was a sad smile. 

"You think this is it? You think it can finally end here?" Lando asked her without looking at her.

Leia straightened her posture as she looked up at him to read his face. She saw worry there, but also a pinch of hope. She gave her own sad smile, "Does war ever really end?"

Leia turned to walk away and Lando watched her as she went. The roar of ship's engines filled the base and winds were picking up leaves and dirt all around. First the TIE flew away, then several X-wings followed behind it. Leia watched them leave, unable to stop herself from wondering if she'd even see some of those heroes again. There was nothing she could do now but wait. 

She walked into her quarters and sat on top of her cot, staring blankly at the floor. She reminisced about her life and how much of it she spent fighting. She thought of Han, of Luke, of her son...

"Oh, Ben." She cried quietly to herself, "I'm so sorry for leaving you."

Alone in the darkness of her room, Leia cried and held onto what few memories she had with her boy. She wished more than anything she could go back in time and create more. She wished there wasn't always so much evil in the galaxy to fight against. 

"Leia..." a familiar voice whispered to her. She wasn't afraid by the sudden noise, but chose to focus on its words, "Ben will return."

"You sound so sure." Leia laughed, finally releasing her necklace from her grasp. She looked around the room and saw no one with her.

"I have seen it. Kylo Ren is dying... but Ben? He's growing stronger." This soft voice said endearingly, "It isn't too late, Leia. Reach out to him. You can still save him."

Leia smiled, trusting the Force and this voice which belonged to her brother - another person she lost much too soon.

"Luke," Leia whispered, "What can I do?"

"Trust the Force, Leia." Luke's voice faded away as Leia felt his presence leaving her. 

"What about Rey?" She asked, mostly to herself.

As she sat in wonder, a new sense of peace washing over her, R2 rolled into her room chirping and beeping frantically. Leia looked down at the droid and laughed, "What's going on?"


End file.
